A recent study of twins suggests that there is a
genetic link to the age at which a person
first engages in sexual intercourse. As the New
Scientist reported:
"It's not like there's a gene for having a sex at a certain date," says Nancy Segal, a psychologist at California State University in Fullerton who led the new study. Instead, heritable behavioural traits such as impulsivity could help determine when people first have sex, she says.
As genetic determinism goes, the new findings are modest. Segal's team found that genes explain a third of the differences in participants' age at first intercourse – which was, on average, a little over 19 years old. By comparison, roughly 80% of variations in height across a population can be explained by genes alone....
As for the specific genes involved, another team previously found that a version of a gene encoding a receptor for the neurotransmitter dopamine is associated with age at first intercourse. Others have linked the same version of the gene – called DRD4 – to impulsive, risk-taking behaviour.
Whole New Scientist article here.
Reason on Facebook
Reason on Twitter
Reason on YouTube
Reason RSS
Editor's Note: We invite comments and request that they be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of Reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason at any time.
guy in the back row|4.6.09 @ 1:36PM|#
Does this gene also predict attendance at state universities? This factor alone may explain a lot of the average age of 19.5.
|4.6.09 @ 1:40PM|#
I've got a shaker full of NaCl. Let the bragging about losing virginity (to a HAWT cheerleader) at age 14 begin.
robc|4.6.09 @ 1:41PM|#
JsubD,
When I was 14, I occasionally stood in the vicinity of HAWT cheerleaders.
|4.6.09 @ 1:41PM|#
I'm going to need a way of marking girls' results from this. I'm thinking tramp stamps or nose piercings.
Jeff P|4.6.09 @ 1:42PM|#
I was 13. It was the Bicentennial.
She was the teen lush who babysat next door.
|4.6.09 @ 1:43PM|#
just remember to add three years to the male responses, and subtract 3 from the girls.
Art-P.O.G.|4.6.09 @ 1:46PM|#
[tears streaming down face] I was 23, OK!
High Every Body|4.6.09 @ 1:47PM|#
Is this about sex with a partner or does practicing by yourself count?
short, fat bastard|4.6.09 @ 1:55PM|#
What exactly is this thing called "sexual intercourse"?
SpongePaul|4.6.09 @ 1:56PM|#
i would venture to guess that 19.5 is probably one of the highest since oh forever. since its only the last 100 years or so that we all are not married by 18
SpongePaul|4.6.09 @ 1:57PM|#
still seems a bit high though lets see i was a junior in high school, and i thought i was behind the curve at 17. i would think the median age is closer to 16-17
squarooticus|4.6.09 @ 1:58PM|#
Hey, some of us were too busy programming to bother with girls in high school. Or something. :-)
Hey, at least all that time spent unknowingly preparing myself for a lucrative career was worth something. Still, some fine young poon probably would have done something positive long-term for my happiness. ;-)
SpongePaul|4.6.09 @ 1:58PM|#
of course i went to a catholic school, so maybe the skirts and windy days skewed the avg lower for my time, lol
|4.6.09 @ 2:03PM|#
"I remember the first time I saw my dad's penis. I was nine. I don't really think it affected me that much though, because I was so young and so drunk."
|4.6.09 @ 2:05PM|#
I remember my first time.
I was scared.
I was alone.
|4.6.09 @ 2:09PM|#
Could the "genetic" link be the fact that the twins are the same level of attractiveness? That usually has some bearing on when you have sex...
Also, 19.5? What state is driving up Kentucky's numbers?
High Every Body|4.6.09 @ 2:12PM|#
Could the "genetic" link be the fact that the twins are the same level of attractiveness? That usually has some bearing on when you have sex...
When did you add that standard?
Oh, you were talking about the rest of us.
Nevermind.
|4.6.09 @ 2:18PM|#
What state is driving up Kentucky's numbers?
Utah? Wait, not with the child brides. Never mind.
libertarian democrat|4.6.09 @ 2:19PM|#
Could the "genetic" link be the fact that the twins are the same level of attractiveness? That usually has some bearing on when you have sex...
I think personality is more important. While I don't want to think about it, I knew a ton of unattractive kids in my high school that were having sex since like midleschool.
High Every Body|4.6.09 @ 2:20PM|#
Epi,
Okay, you caught the funnier part of that post. That's what I get when I stop reading the same time I start laughing.
High Every Body|4.6.09 @ 2:21PM|#
I think personality is more important.
I agree. That is what I am looking for at the strip joint. I tip extra for personality too!
moman|4.6.09 @ 2:21PM|#
I'm with SugarFree on this. Most likely a case of double-ugly.
|4.6.09 @ 2:24PM|#
I think personality is more important.
Maybe. I did fine in high school and I look like the bastard child of the entire male cast of Superbad.
But the blond soccer douchebag did much, much better.
libtdem|4.6.09 @ 2:25PM|#
I agree. That is what I am looking for at the strip joint. I tip extra for personality too!
To clarify, I mean that it affects age of sex (not quality or desirability of said sex) more than attractiveness.
There are a lot of really ugly teens having sex.
|4.6.09 @ 2:25PM|#
But the blond soccer douchebag did much, much better.
I'm not blond, you asshole.
|4.6.09 @ 2:30PM|#
There are a lot of really ugly teens having sex.
Having had to go to mall Saturday [shudder], I agree with this statement wholeheartedly.
Also, complaining about your weight while your drinking a milkshake from Starbucks gets a STFU glare from me every time.
|4.6.09 @ 2:42PM|#
Can I get a ' and e? Fuck sakes.
Taktix®|4.6.09 @ 3:37PM|#
Now the real question is:
Are hot twins more likely to have sex sooner than two non-twins?
|4.6.09 @ 3:45PM|#
Are hot twins more likely to have sex sooner than two non-twins?
If they don't, it is the last nail in the coffin of the existence of a benevolent god.
Ali G|4.6.09 @ 3:54PM|#
I was 9 and she was a 26 year old Italian model.
|4.6.09 @ 4:15PM|#
Are hot twins more likely to have sex sooner than two non-twins?
With a, so to speak, third party?
There's got to be a research grant for that somewhere. . . .
|4.6.09 @ 7:23PM|#
I guess I'm an outlier...
the innominate one|4.6.09 @ 7:37PM|#
What happened to the outrage over genetic determinism interpretations of twin studies, or is that reserved for studies making inferences about the heritability of intelligence?
|4.7.09 @ 1:07AM|#
Listening to either geneticists or economists prattle on about what determines human behavior reminds me of a 3 year old boy who has discovered his penis.